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“Bee on Books” over at Butterfly-O-Meter Books

Come Away with Me to Belarus & Beating Cancer

Hello everybody, I hope you are well. Please stay safe and adher to your governments advice on COVID-19 pandemic.

I know we are in difficult times and I feel that our virtual travels can be a healthy distraction. So let’s head to Belarus and to a band called Iowa. I could not find out much but it looks like the band cares about the environment.

This video is an environmental manifesto, the result of Katie IOWA’s thoughts on one of her most important topics – relationships with the world around her.

“The song“ Lighthouses ”literally fell on us in the midst of the struggle for Lake Baikal. My subscriber asked me to sign a petition to close the Baikal plant, which inspired me to write a song about people I believe in! About people who highlight problems, make decisions, take responsibility and do everything to fix the problem here and now! ”, Katya recalls.

Do not tell anyone, but imagine reality as it is. Share your ideas and find like-minded people. The IOWA Lighthouses video presented what the world of endless unreasonable consumption might turn out to be in the near future.Director Vladimir Besedin, who previously worked on the video “Beats the Beat,” suggested making a video where the characters from the world they invented fall into the real world. Blindfold as a symbol of pink glasses through which a child and adults look at the world. And what happens if this bandage is removed.To recreate the atmosphere of the global apocalypse, scenery of the ecological disaster was built in the pavilion of the Lenfilm film studio.For three days, IOWA participants, along with decorator Xenia Target, collected plastic bottles and cans from friends and acquaintances, and when this was not enough, they bought another 80 kilograms of garbage. All the waste after shooting the clip was again sorted and handed over for recycling. But this video is just the beginning of a long journey.IOWA has already joined the Greenpeace initiative to ban the use of disposable plastic at the legislative level.

If anyone knows more about them feel free to let us know 🙂

Please follow the link underneath to videos if it doesn’t play here on the blog

Send us the link! The ping-back option does not always work so please leave a link in the comments of the post on the day you take part. Or leave it at the “Come Away With Me 2020 FB page“

Tag your post either with ” Come Away With Me Musical Challenge”/ #CoAwWiMeMuCh” / “Come Away with Me 2020 Musical Challenge” o/“CoAwWiMe2020MuCh” / . You can also use these as hashtags for Twitter and other Social Networks to give your post more exposure. If you add #blog and #music with your hashtags it will get you more readers.

No matter which music or country the prompt favours you create with it whatever you please. This is supposed to be a fun challenge and no chore.

I post a prompt for the next week with every “Come Away With Me 2020 post” I write.

If you like, use this picture for your readers to find the posts.

Come Away With Me 2020 badge

Belarus is a country in the East of Europe bordered by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and the Ukraine. It is a landlocked country and used to be part of the Sovjet Union. It was, in fact, a founding country of the Sovjet Union. Before that it has been conquered by several countries over several centuries.

It’s capital is Minsk and its leader Lukashenko is known for his totalitarian leadership. Belarus is considered the last dictatorship in Europe and also the last country in Europe that has the death penalty. The official language is Belarusian Russian and recognized minority languages are PolishUkrainian & Yiddish. That really surprised me. I wasn’t aware that Yiddish is accepted as language anywhere. We live and learn, don’t we? And the last facts about Belarus that I offer you is their population: 83.7% Belarusians[1],8.3% Russians, 3.1% Poles, 1.7% Ukrainians & 3.2% Other.

My update on my cancer journey is a short one. As my operation was scheduled for last Friday, I scheduled my posts for a week ahead so I have time to recover. Last week I mentioned that I only have to stay if complications happen so I am happy to recover at home. But I’ll let you know more as soon as I can write again.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Charity Boudicca Appeal

I would also like to encourage you to support the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Charity’s Boudicca Appeal. They are fundraising 800 000£ to create a dedicated breast cancer unit. The hospital today sees almost double as many breast cancer patients than they did five years ago. That is an enormous rise and puts a lot of pressure on the current facilities and staff.

For me, that meant so far five journeys to Norwich within a month. That is between 35 and 45 minutes travel each way and the worry, not knowing what comes. On Thursday the 5th of March, we went again. We found out that my cancer needs an operation and probably radiotherapy. But I won’t know for sure until two weeks after the operation. While I am holding up well, it still puts a lot of pressure on my family and me.

They say on their page they want to build:” An enhanced environment. Purport-built, spacious waiting, diagnostic and treatment rooms. Counselling rooms for women with a breast cancer diagnosis.Better experience for patients with fewer days of anxiety while patients wait for results.”

That would help a lot. According to the NHS, 1 in 8 women is diagnosed with breast cancer in their life time. So it is essential to create better facilities for breast cancer care. The staff I have met so far are doing an excellent job. They are so caring, being extremely effective and supportive. They do deserve a better work environment.

So please, if you can spare a little money hop over to their Just Giving Page and give as little or much as you can. Or share the page on your social media. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

No more videos for today but if you like to find out about symptoms of breast cancer have a look at the earlier “Come Away With Me Challenge” posts.

Come away with me

Sometimes we need to escape

cuckoos are calling

Happy Monday to you all despite everything. May you stay safe and healthy!

Hi Debbie, I am glad you like the challenge. Yes, it is very educational and a great way to travel online. My operation was last Friday and went well. I am home and my husband takes care of me now even though I can do and am supposed to as much as possible. Just no heavy lifting. In a way I am just watching this surreal COVID-19 reality from afar and just rest. Please stay safe and feel free to take part in “Come Away With Me” 😚🙋‍♀️🐝

“The Bee” Social

🕯 I dedicate this candle to all those who have lost someone to COVID-19. I am so sorry for your loss. 🕯

Description for visually impaired readers: brown table with a red round candle holder. A lit tea light is in it

Thanks to all keyworkers who risk their lives daily to keep us going 👍. Thank you to all cleaners, bus- and lorry drivers, shop- and farmworkers, policemen and women, firefighters, doctors, nurses and all those whom we do not think of. 👏